Mass Production of the Senses: Hollywood and Modernity

elective courses

Classroom

The course interrogates the notion of modernity and modernism and their entanglements with the history of American cinema. It takes into account both how Hollywood thematized modernization (urbanization, rise of corporate America and consumer culture) as well as how it itself was a modern invention, capable of mediating the experience of modernity. We will analyze formal and cultural aspects of a number of key films representative of “vernacular modernism,” a concept introduced by Miram Bratu Hansen.

What was cinema’s role in shaping the modern United States? How Hollywood, the mass-produced art that achieved global popularity, helped to define the ever-shifting meaning of “Americanness”? The course interrogates the notion of modernity and modernism and their entanglements with the history of American cinema. It takes into account both how Hollywood thematized modernization (urbanization, rise of corporate America and consumer culture) and how it itself was a modern invention, capable of mediating the experience of modernity. We will analyze formal and cultural aspects of a number of key short and feature films, including "Safety Last!", "Sunrise", "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang", "Modern Times", "Double Indemnity", "North by Northwest", "The Godfather", "Network", "Taxi Driver" and "The Wolf of Wall Street" (the list may be subject to change). Miriam Bratu Hansen’s concept of “vernacular modernism” will help us understand the ways in which US cinema created an important new language capable of expressing the wonders and anxieties of a rapidly developing society.

Belton, John. American Cinema/American Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012.

Berman, Marshall. All That Is Solid Melts Into Air: The Experience of Modernity. New York: Penguin Books, 1988.

Caddoo, Cara. Envisioning Freedom: Cinema and the Building of Modern Black Life. Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press, 2014.

Charney, Leo and Vanessa R. Schwartz, eds. Cinema and the Invention of Modern Life. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 1995.

Corrigan, Timothy, Patricia White and Meta Mazaj, eds. Critical Visions in Film Theory: Classic and Contemporary Readings. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011.

Doherty, Thomas. Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930–1934. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.

Friedberg, Anne. Window Shopping: Cinema and the Postmodern. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 1993.

Gledhill, Christine and Linda Williams, eds. Reinventing Film Studies. London: Arnold, 2000.

Grant, Barry Keith, ed. Film Genre Reader IV. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2012.

Lewis, Jon. Hollywood v. Hard Core: How the Struggle Over Censorship Created the Modern Film Industry. New York: NYU Press, 2002.

Pomerance, Murray, ed. Cinema and Modernity. New Brunswick, New Jersey and London: Rutgers University Press, 2006.

Sklar, Robert. Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies. New York: Vintage Book, 1994.

Whissel, Kristen. Picturing American Modernity: Traffic, Technology, and the Silent Cinema. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2008.

Upon completing this course a student:

1. KNOWLEDGE

- has advanced knowledge of 20th century American cinema, history and culture;

- understands the language of film – can recognize the key techniques and elements of the "grammar" of American cinema as a narrative art developing in a multicultural society;

- understands the specifics of the American film industry as a branch of the national economy and knows the basic principles of copyright law;

- is familiar with the key terms and theories from the field of US film studies;

- is familiar with the major Hollywood films and their interpretations.

2. SKILLS

- is able to use critical tools correctly and apply them to film analysis;

- is able to formulate critical arguments in relation to American cinema;

- is able to relate Hollywood cinema to social and cultural processes taking place in the US and to normative systems dominant in the society;

- is able to prepare and deliver a presentation on the history of American cinema using advanced information and communication techniques and film terminology in English;

- is able to research, plan and write an academic paper in the field of American film studies.

3. COMPETENCES

- is able to cooperate in a group and take active part in discussions;

- is open to conflicting, critical readings of particular films supported by arguments, as well as to different visions of American culture and society;

- is able to utilize the knowledge acquired during the course to formulate his/her own opinions in a coherent and articulate manner and with respect of other views.

Students are required to prepare regularly for classes (watch films, read the assigned materials), attend classes and participate in discussions (two absences are allowed), prepare a group presentation and write a final essay.

Final grade depends on the partial grades for:

1) active participation in classes - 20%

2) group presentation - 30%

3) final essay (analysis of a selected film; 5-6 pages) - 50%

Final grade (consisting of the above components):

• more than 95% - 5!

• 86-95% - 5

• 81-85% - 4+

• 76-80% - 4

• 70-75% - 3+

• 60-69% - 3